Confident Geer gets call Sunday

With Walter Silva going on the disabled list with a right forearm strain, Josh Geer has been flown in from Triple-A Portland to make Sunday's start against the Phillies.

The Padres will be trying to win a fourth straight game, and a third straight at the expense of the reigning World Series champions and former Padre Chan Ho Park.

Geer didn't face the Phillies in his impressive cameo with the Padres last September. He made five starts, going 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA. But he walked off the mound Sept. 26 with tightness in his elbow.

Although there was speculation Geer would need surgery, he rehabbed all winter and came to spring training as a candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. But a bad spring led the Padres to look outside the organization (Shawn Hill, Kevin Correia and Silva) to complete the rotation while Geer was optioned back to Triple-A Portland, where he was 8-9 last year with a 4.54 ERA.

He was 1-1 in his first two starts with the Beavers this season with a 3.60 ERA.

Competitive and confident, Geer does not have overwhelming stuff. But when he's on, Geer can pound the lower half of the strike zone. He doesn't rattle.

The Padres are 4-1 midway through a nine-game road trip to New York (2-1), Philadelphia (2-0) and San Francisco. They have won eight of their past nine games.

Geer, 25, was the Padres' Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in 2007 for going 16-6 with a 3.20 ERA in 26 starts for Double-A San Antonio ... Left-handed hitters batted .146 (7-for-48) against Geer in his five starts with the Padres late last season ... The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Geer was the Padres' third-round pick in the 2005 draft. He led the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (166 2/3) last season. Geer was 0-1 on the road with the Padres last September with a 2.70 ERA in two games ...

Working mainly out of the bullpen (only five starts in 54 appearances), Park was 4-4 with a 3.50 ERA for the Dodgers last season. Playing for the Padres in 2005-06, Park was 11-10 in 34 games (30 starts) with a a 5.08 ERA. Park, 35, is 117-92 with a 4.37 ERA in a major league career than began in 1994 with the Dodgers.